Image Credit: visalog
Face it, we’re officially, unabashedly obsessed with “social media.”
As an advocate for social business, I don’t have a problem with using the communication channel we commonly refer to as “social media” to effectively engage customers, but I am sick of the seemingly magical properties some ascribe to it and our sloppy distinction of what actually happens through the media channel.
First, the facts
MarketingProfs just posted the findings of a StrongMail study that reported that 59% of marketers plan to increase social media spending in 2009.
A separate report by the Econsultancy found that although most companies are planning to invest in social media in 2010:
Only a quarter of companies say that they have gained “real, tangible value” from social media whereas 60% say that they have gained “some benefit but nothing concrete”
PAUSE.
75% of companies using social media haven’t been able to demonstrate concrete revenue returns.
Normally, this type of horrid ROI would mean abandoning the effort. But we haven’t. In fact, we’re spending more.
I realize this decision is driven by a myriad of factors, but there are two reasons that immediately come to mind: (1) An understanding that the move to social business is essential and that returns may not be immediate, especially with the learning curve, or (2) Buy-in to the hype.
You know what I’m talking about with number 2. The crazed boss running at you with a copy of Crush It! and screaming, “Oh my Gawd! Look whats going on online! We need to do social media!”
Yep, okay.
Why I hate “social media”
Sure social media is sexy right now.
Everyone wants to be on it. Everyone wants to Crush it. Everyone wants to “do” it.
When you say, “It’s our plan to do direct mail really well,” there’s an immediate process that comes to mind: create an effective piece of mail with a great call to action, send it, and measure your response.
But social media isn’t so simple. What is “doing” social media anyway? Is it finding key influencers and advocates? Is it crowdsourcing innovation? Is it delivering 24/7 customer service? Is it scouring the web for relevant conversations about your industry?
Yeah, sortof.
But all of those functions are simply enabled by the connectedness of the internet. What’s better than wanting to “do” social media is wanting to do specific things online (like find influencers, build better reltaionships, crowdsource, take customer service to a new level of speed and efficiency, find relevant industry news the second it happens…).
As an example, crowdsourcing innovation may not presently be a good option for your business. In which case, “doing” social media means something different than it does for a company like Del Monte which created a new “breakfast” dogfood based on customer feedback.
The words “social media” have been so abused that many only latch on the immediately understood concept (e.g. Facebook! Twitter!) rather than unpacking everything the media enables us to do.
Let’s not mince words
As we go forward, I suggest we be very careful in our conversations online and in meeting rooms to differentiate between the what the internet allows us to do (through social tools) and the overarching concept of “social media.”
…I suggest we demand the specific points that will be covered any time someone asks us to attend a seminar on “social media.”
…I suggest that our data collection talks more about specific uses of social tools, and less about whether or not we’re going to spend money on “social media.”
…I want to know what people are doing with their profiles. Are they leveraging brand communities? How much? How do they determine that ROI? Are they expanding customer service? How much? Is satisfaction and engagement increasing? (If you know where I can find this now, please let me know).
…I suggest that we stop talking about “social media” marketing all together and continue talking about what we’re specifically doing with our new set of tools.
So to start:
Maybe you disagree, if so please share why.
But if you agree, will you share the most important thing social tools enable you to do in your business?
For me right now, it’s listening to conversations and establishing trends.
-Andrew
Image Credit: visalog on Stock Exchange; original here
